Heating of water promotes the precipitation of sediment. Accumulated sediment tends to harden, forming a scale on various tank surfaces, which reduces water heater efficiency and, in some cases, can lead to failure.
Various inlets have been proposed over the years in an attempt to overcome one or more of these problems. U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,355 to Cook describes a cold water inlet tube with several nozzles to provide jet-like discharges of incoming cold water downwardly at an angle in the general direction of the tank's bottom. A nozzle is also provided at the top of the inlet tube to discharge a jet of cold water upwardly toward the hot water stored in the upper portion of the tank. The angular nozzles in the bottom of the tube are intended to agitate any sediment tending to be deposited on the tank's bottom while the upwardly directed nozzle is intended to reduce stacking.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,984 to Lannes discloses an inlet for delivering water into a water heater through a port in its side. The inlet includes a conduit having a distal portion that extends toward a bottom of the water heater.
Nevertheless, there remains a demand for improved cold water inlets.